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Essendon 2017

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andrewb said:
I think our midfield will be fine TBH, it's just a year or two off.

Next year the core rotation will be:

Heppell (25), Zach Merrett (21), Zaharakis (27), Parish (20), McGrath (19), Myers (28), Bird (28), Colyer (25) with Tippa (24) and Fantasia (21) rolling through.

We've got a few good kids coming through in Langford (20), Laverde (21) and Mutch (19) who have shown a bit at both AFL and VFL level. My expectation is that Langford and Laverde will gradually push Myers and Bird out of the rotation, they're big bodied kids (both 6'3") who should come of age over the next 18 months. Begley (19) is a big, competitive beast who also looks like he could roll through the midfield and do some damage.

We need to find some rebound off the half back line to replace Pops Kelly (retired) and McGrath who will move up to a wing but other than that the list is in reasonable nick. Dodoro and Keane have done a great job with very limited draft resources over the last few years.

Ambrose, Hurley, Bellchambers, Daniher, Hooker is a really good spine and we have tall depth with Mitch Brown, James Stewart, Aaron Francis, Mick Hartley.
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Yes our midfield will look very different next season & we could see a jump in it's effectiveness very quickly.
 
Bunk Moreland said:
Probably a pass I reckon. Losses to Carlton, Brisbane and Sydney really wrecked our season and any shot at real success. Hopefully less brainfades next year
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The Carlton loss was not a choke. Carlton were simply better than us in the wet. They dominated the game from the start so I don't include that game.

The Brisbane and Sydney losses were huge brainfades. In hindsight, it really didn't cost us a top 4 spot or anything. Maybe a home final, but it would've been against Sydney anyway so we're in almost the same circumstances.
 
andrewb said:
I think our midfield will be fine TBH, it's just a year or two off.

Next year the core rotation will be:

Heppell (25), Zach Merrett (21), Zaharakis (27), Parish (20), McGrath (19), Myers (28), Bird (28), Colyer (25) with Tippa (24) and Fantasia (21) rolling through.

We've got a few good kids coming through in Langford (20), Laverde (21) and Mutch (19) who have shown a bit at both AFL and VFL level. My expectation is that Langford and Laverde will gradually push Myers and Bird out of the rotation, they're big bodied kids (both 6'3") who should come of age over the next 18 months. Begley (19) is a big, competitive beast who also looks like he could roll through the midfield and do some damage.

We need to find some rebound off the half back line to replace Pops Kelly (retired) and McGrath who will move up to a wing but other than that the list is in reasonable nick. Dodoro and Keane have done a great job with very limited draft resources over the last few years.

Ambrose, Hurley, Bellchambers, Daniher, Hooker is a really good spine and we have tall depth with Mitch Brown, James Stewart, Aaron Francis, Mick Hartley.
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Myers is the only one there who couldn't get pushed off the ball by five of Melbourne's midfielders, and he's not that good.
 
JayJ20 said:
The Carlton loss was not a choke. Carlton were simply better than us in the wet. They dominated the game from the start so I don't include that game.

The Brisbane and Sydney losses were huge brainfades. In hindsight, it really didn't cost us a top 4 spot or anything. Maybe a home final, but it would've been against Sydney anyway so we're in almost the same circumstances.
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Who said it was a choke?

We should have won.
 

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Bunk Moreland said:
Who said it was a choke?

We should have won.
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It's an even season. Almost everyone has had a "what could've been" loss. We pinched one from them in the second game so I'm not too caught up about that game. They were the better side on the day. That's what I meant to say. The loss to Brisbane and Sydney were different to the Carlton loss. Even if we won all 3, we'd be 5th with a likely EF against Melbourne. So our chances haven't really been harmed by those losses as much as they originally seemed.

Besides, Port in Adelaide is a much better outcome than Sydney in Sydney
 
Ron The Bear said:
The wheels fell off under Hird in 2015 and last year was an anomaly. There hasn't been any real progression from 2014. A pass could only be conceded if some concession is made for the saga, and I think Worsfold has made good mileage from that already.

Year|Coach|Ladder|Avg age|Age rank
\2007|Sheedy|12th|25.25|6th
\2008|Knights|12th|24.21|12th
\2009|Knights|8th|24.03|11th
\2010|Knights|14th|23.68|14th
\2011|Hird|8th|24.09|12th
\2012|Hird|11th|24.62|10th
\2013|Hird|9th**|24.85|10th
\2014|Thompson|8th|25.35|7th
\2015|Hird|15th|25.17|7th
\2016|Worsfold|18th|25.21|8th
\2017|Worsfold|8th*|25.70|4th
The 22 is set for a refresh, and improvement is difficult to make while a team is getting younger. But as said earlier, if Essendon makes the finals in 2018 with an average of say 25.0, I would re-assess their short-term future.
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I think average age of a list is a great guide but the reality is the context of the list make up can be lost very quickly, regardless of the team the point is being made about.

If you look at the Dons list that played on the weekend only Kelly wont be playing next year and of the wider group you can argue of those that will exit Stanton/Hocking/Watson/Kelly + a couple of under performing players, only Watson and Kelly have had any(i would argue limited) impact on the current season and taking 4 guys who are 30+ off the list will change the average age dramatically. So I wouldn't say the 22 is set for a refresh based the average age of the whole list, when you add the context of who plays and who currently contributes plus factor in the whole list demographics I dont expect the actual on-field performance to drop due to the average age dropping, however the other 17 teams improvement/decline will have a far greater impact I would think positively and/or negatively.
 
Phat Toni said:
I think average age of a list is a great guide but the reality is the context of the list make up can be lost very quickly, regardless of the team the point is being made about.

If you look at the Dons list that played on the weekend only Kelly wont be playing next year and of the wider group you can argue of those that will exit Stanton/Hocking/Watson/Kelly + a couple of under performing players, only Watson and Kelly have had any(i would argue limited) impact on the current season and taking 4 guys who are 30+ off the list will change the average age dramatically. So I wouldn't say the 22 is set for a refresh based the average age of the whole list, when you add the context of who plays and who currently contributes plus factor in the whole list demographics I dont expect the actual on-field performance to drop due to the average age dropping, however the other 17 teams improvement/decline will have a far greater impact I would think positively and/or negatively.
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The ages are for the 22's on the field, not the list. Have heard that Essendon is chasing Jarrad McVeigh, which is a surprise to me. Would've thought easing a younger player into that role makes more sense, unless the club feels it's close. Dea's probably not the answer but Tuohy's doing a job at Geelong. Those players aren't so scarce that McVeigh should be an option.

BTW Essendon was comfortably the second-oldest team last weekend, average age 26.00. With West Coast set to hack and slash, if Essendon doesn't refresh the 22 they're likely to be the oldest team in 2018. And that means they must be in contention for the flag.
 
Last edited:
evo said:
3 of your best players are about to retire.
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Assuming you meant Kelly, who is probably at the bottom end of our top 10 players (if at all) and Watson who is competing with Craig Bird for a spot (take that how you will). If you meant Goddard as the third player, he is staying another year. Hocking and Stanton are playing VFL and will probably retire as well.
 

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evo said:
thats best case scenario- he s nearly 33 round 1 next season.
Not many players go past 34
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You're right, but all we need are his skills and smarts. He's never been quick or agile.
 
ep2006 said:
Impressive for a spooner to play finals the next year but their spoon was due to losing players to suspension, not having an average team.
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We still have an average team, we are mid-table. We had a shit team last year.
 
Despite all his other issues with the club, McLaughlin is wetting himself at the thought of Essendon back in the finals - got to sell those finals tickets don't you know, so from the AFL's perspective it's a big PASS if Essendon qualifies.
 
ep2006 said:
Impressive for a spooner to play finals the next year but their spoon was due to losing players to suspension, not having an average team.
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Yeah but weren't we shit before the players were banned and therefore sitting in the bottom 4 this year again according to the bigfooty experts before the season?
 

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